From Hanksville, head south on Highway 95 towards Hite. About milepost 28.2, a side road goess off on the left to a large camping area and information board. This is the Sandthrax Camping area and trailhead.

Did you read the warning above? Can you climb hard off-width and stem large silos with cool confidence? Below are my notes from when we descended the canyon. Keep in mind I had put in a lot of mileage on other hard canyons before doing this one.

Rack we used: Old (PreC4) BD #4.5, #5, Big Bros #3, #4. (we didn't bring, but I would recommend aiders for most). The crux is short (7 m ( 23 ft. )), but a 30 m ( 99 ft. ) rope may be useful for possible belays elsewhere in the canyon.

Our time was a bit under 4 hours, but many groups will take substantially longer.

Approach (30 minutes)
From the Sandthrax campsite, follow the dirt road south to the more isolated campsites, and then head up the wash. As soon as convenient, climb out on the left (looking up canyon) and climb the slickrock as you continue work up the rim of the canyon. Sandthrax is clearly visible below. Contour up the canyon until it is easy to walk down to the bottom of Sandthrax.

Canyon
Are you sure you're ready? The beta is one short rappel, much high stemming, big silos to cross, a crux off-width, even more high stemming and silos, and then you are done.

Head down canyon, immediately coming to an easy down climb. The canyon opens for a second before the first rappel is encountered. I was dismayed to find a bolt and fixed rope here recently. Leaving a rope here in case you need to retreat may be prudent, but pick it up when you are done with the canyon. A bolt and rope are an invitation for a beginner to plunge into the canyon without knowing what they are getting into.

The canyon, in my head, was divided into three sections. The first section is fairly easy, with occasional wide spots and much high stemming, but nothing too tricky. The silos you cross, however, are getting bigger and the climbing a bit tougher. Some awkward stem across and up moves seemed tricky, but overall nothing too bad. Once stemming off the ground from the start, you will likely not touch down again until at the crux. One big pothole before the crux may have a pin that can be used to help protect its crossing.

The second section is the crux off-width. You will not miss it. Fortunately, only a few body lengths tall, the short off-width is overhung and imposing. Ratings vary from 5.10 to 5.11. If free climbing it (which I could not), I would put it at about desert 5.10 off width based on my struggles following it and experience following other off widths in the desert. It can be aided at awkward 5.8 C1, though emphasis on AWKWARD, not on 5.8 or C1. If you have not aided off widths before, this is not a great place to learn. Know how to aid before you get here. There is also not a great anchor to belay those below you up. Wedging into the crack and holding the weight with your body seems the best approach, though very uncomfortable.

The third section is the rest. The canyon has more and higher stemming and more and bigger silos to cross. On our visit there was an anchor to help protect a very big silo near the end. Of particular note is near the end it is easy to stay stemming high, and find yourself 15 m ( 50 ft. ) up a perfect elevator slot. This was the most fun I had in the canyon, down climbing such a huge and impressive slot.

The canyon eventually eases as you reach the floor again and the right wall is getting lower and lower. Keep going though, there are a few more difficulties before a final down climb returns you to the open desert. Follow the wash down to the campsite.